Z_Definitive_Guide_to_Running_a_Successful_REIA_Meeting_Reduced_size

RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL REIA MEETING
Unbeknownst to me, the REIA owner, during his usual
announcements at the beginning of the meeting, introduced a
woman who was going to speak for a few minutes before me. This
woman proceeded to get up in front of the group and share
information about her local coaching program. It ended up being a
ten-minute pitch on why local coaching was so important and why
people should consider her as their real estate coach and mentor. She
went on to say how no one in the room should ever listen to advice
from anyone that doesn't live and operate their entire real estate
business in California, because the laws are drastically different
there than anywhere else in the country. She insisted that people
who listen to those "out of towners" end up doing it wrong and
usually end up in JAIL or worse—putting their students in JAIL!
She went on to justify many more reasons why people should only
choose to learn from local investors, and she then said, "Thank you,"
and turned the mic over to the REIA owner again. The REIA owner
then said, "Okay guys, now we're ready for a very special guest, all
the way from St. Louis, Missouri, please welcome Shaun
McCloskey!"
Now I've got two major challenges to overcome. First, I was not
informed that there would be other speakers that night, and a big
part of my closing offer and product package was to include four
months of coaching as a bonus for the first certain amount of people
that signed up. The woman before me, however, threw me under the
bus, saying that my coaching is no good because I clearly don't live
in California. Not only that, but remember, "you will likely end up
in JAIL if you listen to an out-of-towner,” right?
The only thing I could do to break the ice was to be fast on my feet.
I started the presentation with, "Thanks for having me everyone! I'm
excited to be here all the way from St. Louis. This is the first time
I've been allowed to leave the state of Missouri in a while, because I
tried doing business here in California once, and as a result, I've
been in PRISON for the last 10 years!" Of course, I said it as
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